Putting Deservingness into Question
Sub-Theme: Content of Citizenship
The sub-theme 'Content of Citizenship' explores through different projects the meaning of citizenship beyond a legal status, as the expression of a collective identity grounded in a shared sense of belonging to a particular national community.
Objective
Through the Psychological Research Evidence (PRE) project, this research adopts a legal interdisciplinary perspective in investigating the refugee adjudication process, a process that impacts the broader integration and citizenship acquisition prospects of refugee claimants. A particularly innovative project, this research uses legal and social scientific methods to investigate credibility assessment in refugee status decision-making and to integrate psychology research evidence into this process.
Research Questions
- How does social scientific literature challenge assumptions that underly deception findings in refugee status decision-making?
- What 'off the record' inferences motivate deception findings in refugee status decision-making?
- What legal principles and norms should inform the use of social scientific evidence in assessing a refugee claimant’s credibility?
Methodology
This research project employs a mixed-methods design, integrating psychology and law disciplines.
Related Projects
- Psychological Research Evidence (PRE) project (Hilary Evans Cameron)
Status
This project is ongoing, with multiple outcomes—draft articles, consensus papers, panel discussions, and events—being finalized.
Expected completion date: September 2030
Outcomes
Publications:
Evans Cameron, H., Rehaag, S., & Friesen, K. (2025). The effect of an ‘appearance, presentation and demeanour’ instruction on credibility and deception judgments in mock refugee status decisions (external link) . Journal of Law and Social Policy, 37, 93–129.
Evans Cameron, H., Herlihy, J., & Hynie, M. (2025). Investigating deception findings in Canadian refugee status rejections: legal inferences and psychological assumptions (external link) . Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 1–27.
Evans Cameron, H. (2023). Risk and the reasonable refugee: Exploring a key credibility inference in Canadian refugee status rejections. (external link) International Journal of Refugee Law, 35(1), 10–36.
Evans Cameron, H. (2023). Sin of omission: Exploring a key credibility inference in Canadian refugee status rejections. (external link) Osgoode Hall Law Journal, 60(1), 127–174.
Past events and conferences:
- “Virtual Hearings Circle”, workshop organized by Hilary Evans Cameron, Virtual Hearings Workshop, Toronto, Canada, February 28, 2025
- “Refugee narratives: Reflections from psychology, communications and law”, panel moderated by Hilary Evans Cameron with guest speakers Vincent Denault, Zoe Given-Wilson, and Katty Alhayek, Toronto, Canada, February 26, 2025
- Adamantly Immigration-based: Refugee Status Determination in Japan, Toronto, ON and online, November 7, 2024
Keywords
Refugee status decision-making; deception judgments; citizenship acquisition; migrant integration
